


Panacea

by EvilMuffins



Series: Komamiki Week [8]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Day At The Beach, F/M, Ficlet Collection, Fluff and Angst, Holding Hands, Kissing, Komamiki Week, one-sided junkomiki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-05 06:58:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11572782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilMuffins/pseuds/EvilMuffins
Summary: pan·a·ce·asynonyms:  cure-all, cure for all ills, universal remedy---A collection of Komamiki Week 2017 prompt fics!





	1. PDA

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1 prompt- PDA  
> Even though I tagged this with DR3 since it takes place at Hope's Peak, it's not really DR3 timeline compliant. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> I'm putting my Komamiki Weeks works together as a collection this year. I'm too lazy to post them separately anymore (thinking up that many titles is....uhhhhh).

It wasn’t as if doing something like this right out in the open, in front of people, would cause any of them see him as more disgusting than they already did. It was far too late for that, and Komaeda preferred not to kid himself. Besides, Tsumiki herself was far from disgusting, even if she did tend to have poor taste in people- not only himself, but that other girl, their kouhai. Even SHSL students, as amazing as they were, had some flaws after all, but they were attending Hope’s Peak in order to cultivate their hope- to grow until they blossomed to full potential- were they not? They were young, everyone attending the school, and they had time…or at least, most of them did. The more time he spent around the young nurse, the harder it became to tell if his condition was worsening, the way his heart would begin to feel as if it were about to stop each time they did this together.

The first time or two, it was as if she were trying to please him, guiding his blazer down off his shoulders, to rest bunched around his elbows as he held tentative hands at her soft waist. So timid when she spoke, her actions betrayed none of that, forceful, taking charge, allowing him little room to reciprocate as she sucked on his bottom lip, poking a pink tongue inside when he hissed in surprise.

He wondered where she had learned how to do such things- and who for-, a question that settled heavily in the pit of his stomach.

Two of their senpai walked by then- it was a wonder that no one had walked by sooner, really, pressed up against the fence right in front of the outdoor track as they were. It was the blacksmith and the confectioner. There wasn’t a soul on campus who didn’t know that they were together, and it was nice, Komaeda thought idly. It wasn’t hard for his mind to wander, after all, if were to focus on the situation at hand, he was quite certain that he would find a way to spoil the moment, whether through saying something that she didn’t want to hear, or through his sheer bad luck. He just…didn’t want her to stop. It was selfish, he knew.

He tried to focus on the other couple out of the corner of his eye, the rosy-haired girl scowling at them in disgust, before elbowing her boyfriend until he did the same. Seeing two SHSL students in love was always nice- two talented people sharing their hope together and all. At the very least, it was much better than watching any of his schoolmates wasting their time on anyone from the reserve course.

Still, despite the two uncomfortable on-lookers, Junko Enoshima herself was nowhere to be seen.

Junko Enoshima was charismatic, although all SHSL students had a certain magnetic draw, or at least Komaeda thought so. She was an entire year under him, however, so his impressions of her were mostly limited to quick passes by around campus, coupled with what he had read about her online. He knew that she was a cover model, that she was dating the SHSL neurologist…and not his classmate, Mikan Tsumiki.

“Are you jealous?” Komaeda had asked her one day, as she patched him up in the nurse's office following another bout of bad luck (one that had had just earned him a life-time ban from any classes that involved a stove and/or fire).

"No!" Tsumiki peeped far too quickly, nearly dropping the roll of bandages, her rolling stool giving an alarmed squeak. "I...don't want anyone to burden themselves taking care of me or anything like that! I'm just happy to be of help..."

"Ah, no, Tsumiki-san," Komaeda chuckled. "I know full well that no one would ever be jealous of me. I was talking about Enoshima-san and Matsuda-san." He cocked his head toward where Junko had just trotted out into the hall after receiving a band-aid for a skinned knee. She immediately locked hands with the boy who had been standing against the wall reading while waiting there for her to finish up, swinging their arms together up-and-down as they left, only deepening the boy's frown.

Although Komaeda couldn't really say that he had had a crush on anyone in particular before- he did love all SHSL level students, after all- he could still recoginse the look that shone in Tsumiki's eyes around the other girl.

Tsumiki grew quiet, her gaze falling on Komaeda's halfway  bandaged hand.

"I might be able to help, if it wouldn't be too disgusting for you..." he began.

They had kissed right outside the nurses office the next day, but Junko never looked their way as she and Matsuda passed by.

They had tried other locations after that- the courtyard bench; an empty classroom; next to the trash incinerator, their faces sand hands slick with sweat from the heat- and other witnesses wearing various flavors of discomfort on their faces, both came and went as the weeks turned to months. Komaeda had learned to kiss back by this time, smoothing her fly-away hair with his fingers as he left her dizzy and flushed. Minor instances of bad luck did befall them now and again- a bee’s hive falling from the tree they sat under, rain brewing up out of nowhere and soaking them through- however Tsumiki insisted that it was all due to her clumsiness (although to this, Komaeda commented that her talent must beyond only nursing if she were able to control nature so).

Their initial goal of earning Junko Enoshima's jealously was soon forgotten in their haze; any set of eyes would do at this point.

As time passed, and although this had been his own suggestion, Komaeda began to wonder if this was really alright for Tsumiki to be doing with someone like him. Even though they were sure to pick locations where other students would be watching, they likely wouldn’t be jealous in the least, not of her being with him, of all people. “Aren’t you worried that they won’t want to be your friends anymore, if they keep on seeing you with me like this?”

Tsumiki blinked at him in confusion. “W-who?”

“Mioda-san and the others, or even that reserve course girl…Natou-san, was it?”

 A look of panic crossed her face as she backed away from him, dropping her hands from his shoulders. "You...you hate doing this with me, don't you? I'm so sorry for forcing you into this! Oh no..."

"I'm just worried for your sake, that's all," Komaeda replied, backing up a step as well to give her space. "In fact, I really do enjoy doing this with you, if it's alright for someone like me to say..." A thought crossed his mind then. "Here, come with me."

Space from seconds ago forgotten, Komaeda grabbed her by the hand, leading her to an empty broom closet.

Not letting go of her hand, even after shutting the door behind them, Komaeda placed a kiss upon her palm, paying no mind to the bandage obscuring her skin.

"See?" he said. "No one's watching this time. I really enjoy doing this with you, Tsumiki-san."

Although he tried to keep up a comforting air, internally he braced for paint cans or whatever else was hidden away on the dim shelves to crash down upon him as punishment for his selfishness, however nothing happened, save for a response.

"I...I want to keep doing this with you too, if you really don't mind so much..."

Lips continued to move, although no more words were spoken.

 


	2. Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2- Death
> 
> I didn't...recycle this from a left over WIP from last year's Komamiki week...what are you talking about....

“Care for a Dr. Hopper?”

“A- a what?”

“Ah, sorry.” Komaeda waved the can in front of her in demonstration. “I know it’s probably not something a nurse would recommend someone to drink. I could go get you something else, if you’d like. …Tea? That’s healthy, isn’t it?”

“Oh, no…uh, thank you…” Tsumiki said distractedly, taking the can from him, though not bothering to open it. Instead she held it between her hands, as if she were cradling something small and delicate, rather than a chilled can, beginning to bead with sweat.

The boy sat down beside her on the bench. “Is something the matter? You seem more…” He made a vague gesture toward all of her person. “…than usual.”

“It’s nothing, really.” Tsumiki’s eyes fell upon the can as she began to fiddle with the pull tab, although with no intention to actually open it.

“Ah, I can see that you wouldn’t want to talk to a piece of trash like me.” Komaeda stood again just as quickly as he had sat, startling Tsumiki who nearly lost her hold on the can.  “Sorry to waste your time like this.”

“No, wait!”

Her eyes were filled with such pleading that Komaeda thought that she might have reached out for him, had she not been nursing the can.

He sat beside her once again, plucking the soda from her hands, and placing it between them on the courtyard bench.

“You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, if you don’t want to. You can just talk to me about anything, if you’d like. For instance…” he paused a moment in thought, before taking notice of the plain tan band aid stuck on Tsumiki’s cheek. “Anything new going on over in the nurse’s office? I’ve heard that you’re doing such a stand-up job volunteering over there, that the school nurse herself hardly every comes into work anymore!”

“The nurse actually spoke to me before she left…” Tsumiki admitted, wringing at her hands now that they were free. “Her…her mother died, so she had to fly back to Hokkaido…”

“Oh, that’s awful. Give her my condolences, when she does make it back.” Komaeda let his head fall back against the top of the bench, looking up toward the blue sky that was interrupted here and there with splotchy white clouds, as if some one had been careless with a bleach bottle while wearing denim. “I know I was a mess after my parents passed. I mean, I still am, of course, but-“

“I’m sorry!” Tsumiki squeaked.

Komaeda blinked, turning his attention back toward her. “You didn’t kill anyone. It’s certainly not your fault.”

“I just…it’s just that, I never knew…”

“Well, I mean, it’s not exactly a good conversation starter…” Not that Komaeda had ever been a skilled conversationalist in general.

The two fell silent for a moment or two, before Tsumiki changed the subject. "Y-you can have it back... the soda, I mean. I'd hate for it to go to waste on someone like me, after you paid for it and everything..."

"Would you feel any better if we split it, then?" Komaeda took the can without waiting for a response. "You can take the first half, because I know that no one would want to drink something after I-"

His words were interrupted by loud pop, followed by a violent fizzing noise as the carbonated drink exploded in his face, covering the entire top half of his body in sticky, dark foam.

A series of giggles rang out from beside him, as Tsumiki laughed more than Komaeda had ever heard from her before now.

"I'm...I'm sorry," she apologised, rubbing tears from the corners of her eyes. "I shouldn't have laughed at you. You can dump the rest on me, if you'd like..."

Komaeda shook his head, upturning the can to prove that it was already empty. "Couldn't if I wanted to."

"That's too bad..." Tsumiki took a deep breath before continuing, her face falling once again. "I-I'm sure you've already heard about this, but they found a reserve course student d-dead in the...the music room yesterday..."

Is that what she had been looking so upset about? Komaeda wondered.

"I don't pay too much attention to what goes on over there, I'm afraid," he replied instead. In truth, he had already overheard their classmates talking about it. News traveled fast, even when an incident involved the unfortunately less talented among them.

Tsumiki nodded. "She...she was bludgeoned to death..."

"Ouch. That sounds like a really painful way to go. Did you know her?"

"Not-not personally, no. It's just that...I...I..."

Tsumiki hadn't spoken to Natsumi Kuzuryuu personally, it was true, but she had heard things about her from both Koizumi and, by extension, Satou. She shouldn't have felt sorry for someone who had been threatening her friends, but every night when she closed her eyes, blood dripping over golden hair was all that she could see, the horrible stillness of that music room all that she could hear, as the guilt swam in her stomach like a shark feeding on her failure to come clean about finding the corpse.

Although usually anxious, Tsumiki now looked as if she were about to spontaneously combust from nerves,  visibly quivering hands fidgeting with her skirt hem, as the toe of her shoe dug into the dirt beneath the bench.

Generally Komaeda would avoid any physical contact with his classmates, lest his bad luck (and general disgustingness) ooze off onto them, but at this point, anything he could do to calm her seemed like a better option than allowing her to suffer.

Without allowing himself any further thought, Komaeda placed a hand, still sticky from the recent beverage incident, over top of Tsumiki's, giving a gentle squeeze.

Although her hand gave a slight jerk of surprise, the overall effect was immediate as her shaking subsided.

"I'm not going to pry or anything, but if you ever need to talk about it, I'll listen. I know it's not worth much coming from me, but-"

"Thank you, Komaeda-san. N-no one usually has the patience to listen to me, so thank you..." Tsumiki replied, turning her hand over in his to return the squeeze.

 

 

 

 


	3. Beach Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 3- Beach Day (late)
> 
> Unapologetic fluff. Sorry for any typos. My brain is poo.
> 
> I'm not sure how many more of these I'll get done, guys!

Tsumiki wasn’t entirely certain that she enjoyed the feeling of sand. Hot and grainy, it stuck in places that it shouldn’t. Still, she reveled in it, wriggling her toes down into the rough granules, she closed her eyes, taking in the novel sensation.

However, another sensation followed immediately after- one of a pail full of salty water cascading down over her head, the coolness of it taking her breath away, compared to how warm her body had grown in the midday sun.

“I saw that the little piggy was getting all sweaty in the sun,” the shrill voice of Hiyoko Saionji cackled behind her. “I could smell you all the way down the beach.”

“I’m sorry!” Tsumiki shouted instinctively. She knew that what Saionji claimed wasn’t even possible, however reflex won out over rational thought.

The apology seemed to be enough, however, as the girl scurried off snickering, in the direction of Koizumi who was beckoning her while waving a bottle of sunblock, clearly meaning that Saionji had run off to cause problems without being properly UV protected.

A thought popped into the nurse’s head then: Had her other classmates properly applied their sunblock? Although the idea of nursing them back to health after turning red and tender and peeling and dehydrated and nauseous wasn’t completely unappealing- it would have been a good way to bond with them after all- she couldn’t allow herself to not provide preventative care.

As her mind raced, something else fell upon her head, this time blocking out the view of her classmates romping in the surf.

“I saw what she did to you,” came the voice of Komaeda through the fluffy cloth of the towel. “Are you alright?”

Tsumiki nodded, not removing the towel, which soon began to move around her as Komaeda dried her off.

“Forgive my asking,” he began after removing the towel and laying it out flat for himself to sit upon, “but is there a reason you’re not swimming? Do you not know how?”

With the except of Koizumi, Saionji, and themselves, the rest of the group had taken to splashing in the waves.

“Oh no! It’s…it’s nothing like that. I actually…took lifeguard training back at my old high school…It’s just that…well, it was in a pool and-“

“Ah! So it’s your first time at the beach!”

Tsumiki nodded once again. “H-have you been before?”

“Once or twice, when I was really little, my parents took me. They were busy a lot, but they somehow made the time. I guess they both thought that the other had put sunblock on me, though, because I looked like…you know that kiddy show with the puppets that teach about shapes and numbers? Well, I looked like that one really popular one that they keep making toys of… Emo, was it?”

“D-did you remember this time?” Tsumiki asked, leaning in to inspect his face for signs of burning. He was awfully pale, after all.

“…About Emo the puppet?”

“S-sunblock!” Tsumiki sputtered, pulling back.

“Hmm…” Komaeda considered for a moment, before declaring cheerfully, “Nope!”

“Y-you need to use some! It’ll hurt later, if you don’t, j-just like when you were little… I’ll go get some!” She looked frantically side to side. The only bottle in sight was the one currently in the possession of Koizumi and Saionji. Although Koizumi was generally likable, she did little to stop her friend’s name-calling habit. Even so, Tsumiki began to stand, planning to pled her case for the bottle.

A hand on her arm stopped her.

“I’ll go.” Komaeda smiled as he stood, making his way across the sand.

Tsumiki watched in concern as he spoke animatedly with the two girls, although she couldn’t hear what was said.

He soon returned with the bottle.

“What did you say to them?” Tsumiki asked quietly. She knew that the two of them seemed like Komaeda even less than they did her.

Komaeda shrugged. “I just talked to them a little bit- hope; talent; the meaning of life, you know, mundane things really- and suddenly they were shoving the sunblock at me, begging me to leave.”

“Oh, um, that’s good,” Tsumiki replied, uncertain how to react to that. “If you, um, give me the bottle, I could put it on for you…”

“Sorry, but I can’t let you do that. I wouldn’t feel right making someone such as yourself touch someone like me. I don’t look it, but I’m actually pretty flexible,” to illustrate, he took his left thumb into his right hand, pulling it backward until it touched his wrist. Even as a nurse, it made Tsumiki cringe. “So I can reach my own back just fine! No need to waste your time on me.”

Tsumiki’s face feel. Although he had framed it as being for her sake, she couldn’t help but think that his words had sounded an awful lot like a rejection. “W-would you rather do it for me, then?” she asked, beginning to slide one of the school-style swimsuit’s navy straps down off of her shoulder.

“Ah, no that’s quite alright! Here, you can do it for me, if you really want to.”

With a little nod, Tsumiki pushed the strap back into place, before squeezing out a dollop of sunblock into her palm. It was the tropical-scented kind, only adding to the already sweet air of the island.

“I’m certainly not going to be offended if you’ve changed your mind,” Komaeda offered, seeing her hesitate.

“It’s nothing like that! I’m sorry…I was just…deciding how to approach this. I’ve applied ointments to patients before, but you’re not…”

“Hmm, well, would you feel better if I lie down? You can pretend that I’m dying!” It wasn’t that far from the truth, really, he thought, wriggling down flat onto the towel, so that he was lying on his stomach.

Tsumiki placed a tentative hand on his shoulder. The lotion had been on her palm for long enough that it wasn’t at all cold against his skin, as she began to rub in tiny circles.

It was incredibly soothing, Komaeda found as he felt the tension in his muscles drain away. He couldn’t remember anyone being so gentle, not to mention so concerned with his own safety and comfort, before.

“If you were…dying…I’d try my very best to take care of you…” her voice was small as she worked, nearly carried away in the warm salt breeze.

“I know you would,” came the response, muffled somewhat by the towel pressing into his cheek. “Your talent is- _you_ are incredible, Tsumiki-san…”

The nurse touched a hand to her own cheek then, certain that she must be getting a burn herself for how warm she suddenly felt.

As she made to continue rubbing the boy’s back, however, she realised that Komaeda had grown very quiet.

He had drifted off to sleep, Tsumiki realised. The sun’s warmth, coupled with the gentle lapping of waves, was pretty relaxing, she thought, lying down beside him, half on the towel, and half on the hot sand. Getting used to swimming in the ocean could wait for another day. After all, they would all be on the island together for quite a while to come, wouldn’t they?

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was not meant to be fluffy, but I am physically incapable of not turning everything I touch as sappy as possible.


End file.
